"Didn't Have Single Valid Argument To Support Delhi Bill": Arvind Kejriwal Jabs Amit Shah

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today launched a spirited attack on Home Minister Amit Shah over the control of services bill that was passed in the Lok Sabha.

After Mr Shah started a debate in the Lok Sabha on the bill that seeks to control Group-A officers in the National Capital Territory (NCT) administration, Mr Kejriwal tweeted the Home Minister did not offer a "single valid argument" on why such a bill is needed.

"Today I heard Amit Shah ji speaking in Lok Sabha on the bill which snatches away the rights of the people of Delhi. They do not have a single valid argument to support the bill... They also know that they are doing wrong. This bill is a bill to enslave the people of Delhi. This is a bill that makes them helpless and helpless. INDIA will never let this happen," Mr Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi, referring to the newly formed opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.

The Lok Sabha passed the bill today amid a walkout by opposition MPs during voting.

Mr Kejriwal has sought the opposition's support against the bill, particularly in the Rajya Sabha, where the government does not have a majority. However, with the support of three key regional parties who are not part of the INDIA opposition bloc, the bill is expected to comfortably sail through the upper house on Monday.

Home Minister Amit Shah defended the government's bill to override a Supreme Court order on who controls bureaucrats in the national capital.

"This ordinance refers to the order of the Supreme Court which says parliament has the right to make laws on any issue related to the National Capital Territory of Delhi. There are provisions in the Constitution that allow the centre to make laws for Delhi," Mr Shah said, referring to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

Mr Kejriwal's "enslave the people of Delhi" tweet also alluded to Mr Shah's statement in parliament that the BJP and the Congress ruled the national capital without any confrontation, but problems arose only in 2015 when a government came that had no intention to serve but only to fight with the centre.

The AAP-led Delhi government has been fighting a war against the centre over the control of Group-A officers in the NCT administration.

In May, the centre made an ordinance that overturned the Supreme Court judgment handing over control of "services" in the NCT administration to the Delhi government. That ordinance was overwritten by the bill.